What is woodcut?

Woodcut is one of the oldest forms of printmaking. With origins in China dating back to the 5th century, it reached the Western world in the 13th century. It’s a relief printmaking technique whereby a design is carved by hand into a block of wood, ink is applied to the remaining raised surface with a roller (brayer) and is then transferred to paper or fabric when pressure is applied by hand-stamping or by using a printing press. Essentially, the artist carves away the areas they don't want to print, leaving the design they do want to print raised (in relief). 

Woodcut prints often have the characteristic of a visible wood grain impression in the printed surface. This grain also provides an additional challenge when cutting the wood, necessitating very sharp tools to sever the grain and avoid tearing of the long wood fibres. The carved marks in woodcut prints are often bolder & more rugged, distinguishing them from the more fluid marks achieved by carving into linoleum.

For most of my woodcut prints, I have used Baltic birch plywood printed on either my etching press of my Showcard proofing press.